


A Princess with His Prince

by LollingCat



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine, Cuphead (Video Game), bendy and boris in the inky mystery - Fandom, bendy and boris: the quest for the ink machine - Fandom, the inky mystery
Genre: AliBends is the main focus, Bendy and Boris in the Inky Mystery, Dancing, Jokes, Multi, One-Shot, Party, Princess - Freeform, not sure what to put in tags lmao, prince - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 10:45:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19990861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LollingCat/pseuds/LollingCat
Summary: A one-shot of a party where every man's in a dress and every women's in a tunic, featuring Bendy and Boris in the Inky Mystery by ThisAnimatedPhantom and Mercowe's characters!





	A Princess with His Prince

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThisAnimatedPhantom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisAnimatedPhantom/gifts), [Mercowe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mercowe/gifts), [Aura_Creed](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aura_Creed/gifts), [TheRogueFalcon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRogueFalcon/gifts), [PerriBoo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerriBoo/gifts), [Fantastic_kingdoms_87](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fantastic_kingdoms_87/gifts), [and others!](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=and+others%21).
  * Inspired by [Bendy and Boris in The Inky Mystery](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10726146) by [Mercowe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mercowe/pseuds/Mercowe), [ThisAnimatedPhantom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisAnimatedPhantom/pseuds/ThisAnimatedPhantom). 



> Ahhh, most of you who are here know pretty much everything who need to know. As for those who don't? Most of this originated from silly jokes on the Inky Mystery Discord server! I had a fun time writing this (except for the dancing)! So, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also! I should specify that this was written before Chapter 117 of Inky Mystery and I can't see the future so idk what happens lol. This party takes place at an unspecified time anyway, seeing as no one outside of the house group is bothered by Alice being an angel, and the amount of items they have isn't specified.

Bendy groaned as he held his face in his hands, cheeks hot with a furious flush. “We  _ can’t  _ be doing this, can we?”

His young wolf brother smiled sheepishly at him, although there was a cruel glint in his eyes that Bendy didn’t miss. “Hey, this’ll be fun. You won’t be the only one suffering, after all.” Boris raised an eyebrow and tilted his head with something between a smirk and a smile on his doggish snout.

Bendy raised his burning face to glare at his brother. “You aren’t going to suffer the least bit! You’ve got no right to say that.”

Boris stifled his laughter, raising a paw to his muzzle. “You wouldn’t be suffering either if you’d just accept your fate and get it over with.” He grinned a crooked grin at the small demon. “Besides, Cup’s gonna be in the same situation as you, and he practically started this whole thing.”

Ah, yes. Cuphead. That cussing cupman that had tried to kill Bendy and his brother on multiple occasions and now was… Well, he was getting what was coming to him. To think this all started off with Cuphead sticking Holly May in a tree and dubbing her the “tree princess” from there on out. Sure, it had been all fun and games back then, when Holly had jokingly fired back at Cup, calling him the “animal princess”, and that had escalated into everyone getting their own little fun “princess” nicknames- the dancing princess, the puppy-eyed princess, the singing princess… They had just been silly little nicknames. But now? Now there were consequences. Consequences Bendy did  _ not  _ want to face.

He had already been body-swapped with a girl- with  _ Dot Warner _ , no less, and dressed up in frilly, cute clothes. Did he really need to go through this  _ again?  _ Surely the world had  _ some  _ mercy? Just the tiniest bit?

“C’mon, Bendy, this is supposed to be a nice break from the ink machine and everything.”

“This is  _ hardly  _ a break. This is  _ torture _ , Boris,” Bendy mumbled from behind his hands.

“Hey, at least you aren’t being dressed up as a sandwich,” Boris reminded him.

Bendy snorted. “I would rather switch places with Sammy than do this.” Ah, Sammy Scare D. Cat. Poor cat had unfortunately gotten wound up in a game of truth or dare amongst the questers, which resulted in him getting dared to wear a sandwich costume to the party. Lovingly called the “Sammywich”. In Bendy’s opinion, the cat was getting off easy. A simple sandwich compared to the horrors that awaited Bendy? He would go back in time to that fateful day of truth or dare and take Sammy’s dare in a heartbeat.

“Bendy, really, it’s not  _ that  _ bad.” Boris frowned at him, raising an eyebrow.

“Says you,” Bendy snarked back at him, raising a brow right back at his younger brother. Boris sighed and rolled his eyes, although there was a tiny twitch of his lips that indicated a smile. He reached out to grab the large plume of clothes that had been tossed onto Boris’s bed as Bendy didn’t even want to look at it. Boris held out the outfit towards his brother, cocking his head with a smug smirk and a taunting gaze.

His brother was adorned in a fashionable dress that was meant more for comfort than fashion. Little buds of roses curled around the shoulders and along the rim near the bottom, outlining the areas where the dress twinkled with specks of glitter. The fabric itself appeared soft and dainty, as light as a feather. A small tiara sat gently upon the wolf pup’s head, accompanied by a round bow beneath his ear. There was a smooth and stylish collar around his neck as well, with a tag in the shape of a heart. His brother looked not the least bit bothered by his unusual attire.

The pup raised the dress he held in his hand a bit higher, waving it at Bendy as the demon stared, frowning. The dress matched Boris’s own, albeit it was suited to fit him and had a little more flare to it. More flowery flare that is, with a bigger variety along with a flower clip for his tail.

_ ‘At least it’s better than that cussing tail ring,’  _ Bendy thought grimly, wincing at the memory.

The tiara and bow were still laid on the bed, waiting for Bendy to put them on. His new fashionable dress shoes, the one’s a ballerina might adorn, sat right below the bed, mocking Bendy for his love of dancing.

Bendy heaved a deep sigh, his frown disappearing as he finally accepted his fate. He reached out to grab the dress from his brother. Time to put this starfallen thing on, get out there, and get it over with.

\--------

Holly giggled warmly as she chatted with Finley, raising her hand to her mouth. A few other familiar toons were laughing nervously or lightly teasing each other around her. Dovil, wearing a classy tuxedo that framed her figure wonderfully, had broken away from Betty Boop, Red Riding Hood, and Fanny to laugh with her boyfriend, Puphead as he struggled to move around in his rather poofy dress. Granny Gopher, who had already been named the grandmother queen ever since this joke had started oh so long ago, was happily finishing up the last of her cooking as she poked fun at Dr. Ryan Oddswell, who looked rather… awkward in his own dress to put it mildly. The fact Granny had managed to convince Oddswell to even put a dress on at all was astonishing.

Of course, it was an obvious thing to note that all the guys around her wore dresses and tiaras and bows while all the girls wore tunics, cloaks like what Holly knew Alice Angel had picked out for herself, and a few wore simple tuxedos or suits. Clearly, every man was dressed as a princess, and every woman, a prince. Well, everyone except for Holly.

Holly was  _ the  _ tree princess, after all, and tonight, she bore that title proudly. It was only fitting that she wore a beautiful gown, with a design that showed roots and branches crawling up her arms and torso, along with a few tiny blossoming flowers at the ends of the branches. The crown curled on her head looked like it might be made of branches, with three leaves forming the points of it all. Holly had to admit, even though they had gotten this dress on a dare way before the idea of this party had popped up (which was also partially the reason she was dressed as a princess rather a prince- they could only spend so much after all), it was quite stunning.

The only other person quite as stunning in this room, she had to say, was perhaps her date, Finley Fox. He bore his dress with pride, puffing out his chest and smirking with confidence. He had a small tiara that countered his large ears, and his dress revealed his shoulders, mimicking his confidence. Big, bright flowers lined the top of the dress, meant to compliment well with Holly’s whole “tree princess” theme. The top half of his dress was a pretty dark shade, that flowed out into a petal-like pattern before breaking off into the white bottom half of his dress. There was a transparent loom of fabric wrapped around his waist, marking where his dress poofed out.

Holly cleared her throat from her laughter, smiling at the charming fox beside her. "How's Sammy holding up?" He was the only other one breaking the theme after all, on the dare that he had to be a sandwich.

Finley grinned toothily at her. "Ah, last I checked, still on the verge of a nervous breakdown." He shook his head lightly. "Long as none of us laugh at him, Sammy'll be good enough to stay. I helped calm him down last night." Holly smiled at him. Finley had made everyone promise not to make fun of the poor sandwich-cat too harshly, although of course there would be a few giggles here and there. The fox was very considerate when it came to his friends.

Holly remembered, with a small, sad pang, how he'd said he wanted to sing tonight in honor of Snow White. Even amongst all this happiness and laughter, there were those shadows of what they had lost and the stress of what was to come. Holly could only hope tonight would help put everyone back in higher spirits.

"Speaking of our beloved Sammywich," Finley said, smirking as he eyed the stairs. "Looks like he's confident enough to come downstairs."

Holly turned her head to watch as a shaking cat hopped nervously down the stairs, holding his tail in his hands and wringing it anxiously. His sandwich costume, was, well, was there really a need to describe it? It was a sandwich!

Holly smiled at the anxious cat as he timidly walked up to Finley and her while everyone else paused in there conversations to glance at him.

"You look nice, Sammy," Holly offered kindly. "Cute as ever."

Sammy's ear tips seemed to burn at that. "I-I look ridiculous…"

"Nah, not as ridiculous as some of the others are gonna be," Finley hummed. He smirked and then twirled, holding the ends of his dress. "None of them are gonna be as  _ beautiful  _ as me!"

Holly chuckled at her date's actions. "I thought I was the most beautiful one?"

Finley smiled at her. "The most beautiful one, yeah,  _ but  _ not the most beautiful  _ guy _ !"

Holly laughed brightly at that. "Well, at least your just gonna be egotistical, unlike Bendy and Cup. They're gonna be absolute  _ messes." _

"Not as big of an absolute mess as me," Sammy moped, ears drooping.

Finley smiled reassuringly at his friend. "Hey, you'll be fine buddy. If it does get to be too much, you can head back upstairs. Noone would blame ya."

Sammy hesitated for a second before shaking his head. "N-No, the dare specified the whole day. So- so, I'm gonna go the whole day." He lifted his chin with mock confidence while his shoulders shook.

"Just don't overdo yourself, Sam," Finley advised, tail swaying.

"I-I won't, Fin," Sammy murmured, glancing nervously around.

"HEY SAMMYWICH!" Three voices screeched simultaneously, giggling as the cat leaped into the air, tail puffed out. The trio grinned devilishly at Sammy while Finley sent a warning glance their way.

"Warners." Holly smiled at them. "Looking fancy."

Both Wakko and Yakko had on extravagant and rather chaotically patterned dresses along with ridiculously sharp tiaras that Holly would classify as a borderline weapon on anyone else. Dot was the one who had on a more calmer, professional tunic reminiscent of the Medieval Ages.

"Why thank you, miss tree princess," Yakko said, grinning ear to ear and proudly showing off his dress by fluffing it out.

Dot pouted her lip a bit frowning, "Although, you would have looked fabulous in a tunic like mine."

"Well, I certainly wouldn't mind, but we did have to make budget cuts and we already had the dress." Holly shrugged.

"I've got a few suits your size in my pocket if ya wanna do a quick flip to a prince," Dot suggested.

Holly tilted her head. "Hmm. Maybe later in the day, Dot. First, let's talk about our little plans." She grinned impishly at the young Warner.

"Yeah, did ya do everything with Jerry?" Finley asked, eyes gleaming.

"Ya betcha!" Wakko smirked. "And we've already got salt in every coffee ground and packet!"

"Shh, lower your voice," Holly warned, glancing around to make sure no one heard of their plans.

Sammy frowned beside them. "G-Guys? I think that jokes gone on long enough. Didn't Dr. Oddswell ban salt in coffee?"

"Yeah, but now everyone's just been doing it  _ quietly.  _ Which is even worse. This time we're gonna hit big, and we're gonna hit hard!" A bat appeared in Dot's hand and she swung, hitting a baseball that landed into a conveniently placed punch bowl that Holly didn't recall being there before. The punch splashed out and the girls collected around it narrowly avoided getting stains on their prince outfits by jumping backwards. They sent glares Dot's way but the youngest Warner just smiled innocently, a halo briefly appearing above her head.

Holly laughed softly at the zany's antics. They never failed to amaze or amuse her.

Yakko’s eyes suddenly brightened, his ears lifting. “Ooo! Ooo! 9 o’ clock, 9 o’ clock! Cupbro’s enter!”

The group of them all turned their heads in unison, grins already plastered on their faces. And there the Cupmen brothers were, one being dragged into the room.

“Cuppy, c’mon, it’s not  _ that  _ bad,” Mugman was saying to his brother, smiling sympathetically. Mugman wore a flowing dress that ended a little bit below his knees, and that revealed his shoulders. He still bore his scarf, as it was wrapped gently around his neck and flowed behind him similar to a cape. His tiara sat utop the rim of his head, and Holly wouldn’t hesitate to think it might be glued on if not for the fact that the Cupbros generally just confused her in their odd anatomy and magic.

Cuphead, on the other hand, had a much larger dress that went down to the floor. It was smooth in design, with a clear shine to it, along with a little polished jewel that sat at the collar of the dress. While the dress itself would have been enough for Holly to burst out into laughter, the most comedic element was the fact that he wore his tiara on the bend of his bendy straw. Holly had to guess it was placed there solely because of his hair.

Holly snickered into her hand while the Warners and Finley let out wallops of laughter. Sammy had a wobbly smile on his face. Betty, Fanny, Red, Dovil and Puphead all glanced at the Cupbros way, Fanny smirking at Cup. Cup’s eyes immediately caught on Holly’s group laughing and he scowled while his face flushed brightly. Holly didn’t miss how his eyes flickered to Fanny, though.

“Oh hardy har, laugh it up,” he snarked under his breath as Mugs pulled him over to them, smiling timidly with a light tint to his own cheeks.

“Will do,” Holly smirked at him. Cup frowned at her.

“You got off scot-free, miss tree princess. You shouldn’t be laughing until you’ve felt my pain,” Cup said, crossing his arms.

Holly raised an eyebrow at him. “Hey, you were the one who gave me that title. Besides,” she turned her head a bit, flipping her hair with her hand. “I might take Dot up on her offer to switch into being a tree prince.”

Cup glanced at the Warner in question. “Really? Can she switch me out of this starfallen thing?”

“Hmmm.” Dot placed a finger on her chin thoughtfully, pouting out her bottom lip. She eyed Cup up and down. “Mmmm, nope! Although I might have a few better ideas.” Her eyes glimmered mischievously.

“Yeah, no, gonna stop you right there, zany. Whatever you’re thinking, no way.” Cup glared at her.

Dot huffed. “Fiiiine. You’re no fun.”

Holly turned to Mugs as he glanced around. “Cala and Alice will be here soon. I arrived early to help set up since I already had a dress and everything.”

The scarf-wearing cupman blushed and ducked his head down, stuttering out an, “O-Okay…”

“You and Cala are so cute,” Holly teased further, watching in amusement as Mugs squeaked and mumbled something incoherent.

“Seriously, when are you guys gonna make it official and just date already?” Finley asked, smirking at him.

Mugs’s eyes widened and he coughed. “U-Um,” his voice cracked, “I-I’m gonna go get some punch real quick, be right back.” The group watched with grins as the blushing cupman ran off.

Yakko ‘tsk’ed, shaking his head. “Those two really need to work things out.”

Holly’s eyes twinkled as a million ideas rushed through her head. “We could always try and trick them into it.”

“Don’t bother,” Cup grumbled. “They’ll just do what that mouse and his girlfriend always do.” He was more focused on his dress and messing with the cloth and poof of it. Holly smirked at him.

“Is the dress uncomfortable? I’d imagine it’s rather breezy with so much open space,” Holly said, tilting her head smugly. Cup glared at her again, opening his mouth to respond when a sudden boisterous laugh erupted behind him. Cup jerked up straighter as his face went alight from embarrassment. He whipped around with a growl and a glare.

"Oh my stars, your dress is  _ so  _ much worse than mine!" Bendy was cackling, his brother rolling his eyes beside him. While Cuphead had a more ridiculous look with how large the dress was and having his tiara on his straw, the demon actually looked rather cute in his flowery dress- which, for Bendy, who absolutely  _ hated  _ being called cute, was probably the worst thing for him. Holly thought the flower clip on his tail was a nice touch as well.

Cuphead glowered daggers at Bendy. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, Cup didn't get the chance to give a snappy response because Dot started squealing. The Warner was immediately beside Bendy, clinging to his arm, and Bendy was immediately scowling and trying to throw her off.

"Bendy-boo, you're so cute!" She gasped, putting a hand to her cheek. "Oooh, when they start the music we need to dance! Holly, Holly, when does the main event start?"

Holly smiled in amusement as Bendy's face burned at Dot's comments, vexedly still trying to get her off his arm and telling her to stop. "They'll start a little after Alice and Cala arrive. They should be here soon."

"Think they ditched?" Finley asked.

"No, Cala's probably struggling a bit or something," Holly replied.

"Can we start dancing without them?" Dot asked, clinging harder to Bendy's arm as he exasperatedly gave up, groaning in defeat.

"Looks like you won't be dancing with the angel tonight, huh, 'Bendy-boo'?" Cup smirked at the demon. Bendy glared at him, blushing brightly.

"Shut it! It's not like your gonna be dancing with your crush!" He hissed out. Cup frowned, but Holly didn't miss how his eyes flickered to Fanny, and neither did Boris, who raised a brow and traded a glance with Holly. She let out a sigh. There weren't many strings she could pull in this scenario. Fanny was married to Brute, and Cup had it bad enough. She'd just have to let it be… for now. A little teasing here and there never hurt.

Dot pouted. "You don't need to dance with her. You've got me! Stop being shipped with other people!"

Bendy stared, deadpan, at her. "Dot, for the last time, I don't know what  _ shipping  _ means."

Yakko took a breath, raising a finger. "Well, when a piece of literature develops a fandom, readers will begin to view two characters as more compatible. For example, in this one-shot-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there. I have no idea what you're saying and I don't  _ want  _ to know." Bendy closed his eyes and sighed deeply before opening them and glaring at Dot. "And, Dot,  _ please,  _ will you just let go of my arm?"

Dot frowned. "Fiiine." She reluctantly let go of his arm, lower lip jutted out as she whined.

"Thank you," Bendy said exasperated, tail waving slowly behind him.

"So, how's the tail clip?" Cuphead asked, eyeing the flower clip on Bendy's tail with a smirk.

Bendy's face turned bright again as his tail quickly hid itself behind his body. "How's the tiara?" Bendy shot back heatedly.

And, predictably, Cup blushed, tilting his head up, his straw moving slightly with his movements. "Hey! It was a fashion choice."

Bendy laughed. "A fashion choice?! So you  _ actually  _ spent time making yourself look good in a  _ dress _ ? What, did you also make your hair shinier than normal or something?" He leaned over, putting a hand on his knee as he laughed. Unfortunately, his tiara slipped off and clattered to the floor, although he didn't seem to take notice of it.

Holly raised a brow, glancing from the discarded tiara and then to Cup's hair. "He does have a point. It  _ does  _ look shinier than normal."

Finley nodded beside her. "Wouldn't put it past him to take time on his  _ precious  _ hair."

Cup huffed, the original color of his face hardly noticeable past his dark blush. "At least I took time to make myself look good." He turned a glare onto Bendy. "Unlike someone, my tiara actually stays on."

Bendy just chuckled more. "Oh, so what? You expected me to  _ glue  _ my tiara on like you did?"

For Holly, it was so bizarre to just hear them saying " _ my  _ tiara". It was like she was in another dimension. Never in her life did she think she'd watch an assassin cupman and a demon with a deadly illness argue over  _ tiaras  _ while wearing fancy, frilly dresses.

Finley, Boris, and Sammy- who was still in his sandwich costume during this as well, merely adding to the weirdness of it all- seemed to be having the same thoughts as they watched the two argue. The Warners had slipped away at some point, and Holly guessed, with a glance at the clock, that they had left to go pester Jerry as the man hid locked away in a room, trying to ignore the party.

"I did  _ not  _ glue it on," Cup argued defensively. "It stays on because of the bend."

"Yeah, right." Bendy raised a disbelieving eyebrow, crossing his arms. "You totally glued it on, didn't you?"

"No! Augh! Whatever! At least mine  _ actually  _ says on." Cup grinned suddenly as he leaned down, albeit awkwardly around the poof of his dress, to pick up Bendy's tiara. "Look." Swiftly, before Bendy could protest, he plopped the tiara down onto Bendy's horn. The tiara stayed on his horn even as Bendy jerked his head back, swatting away Cup's hand. "Now it won't fall off! Problem solved!"

Bendy scowled at Cup. "Problem not solved! Now I just look as ridiculous as you."

"Hmm. I don't know. I'd say it looks pretty cute, actually," a soft voice cut in. Bendy jumped into the air, startled, much like Cup had before when Bendy had snuck up on him. Bendy whirled around, face bright with a fierce blush.

"A-A-Alice! H-How long have you b-been there?" Bendy stuttered out, looking absolutely starstruck as he stared at the angel. And Holly wouldn't blame him. Alice had spent her time well, it seemed. She had her hair in a loose ponytail, letting some of her hair fall around her face, framing it nicely. Her halo shone above her head, illuminating her face in a soft glow that highlighted her features. Her dark eyes were looking especially stunning in the light, and her lips had that familiar dark and pretty lipstick on. As for her outfit, she had on a cloak around her shoulders, with a nice medieval tunic under it, as well as polished boots.

Alice smiled at the flustered demon. "Not long. I'm not surprised you couldn't hear Cala and I enter over you and Cup's argument." Her eyes scanned over Bendy's dress, smile never leaving her face. "The dress looks amazing, by the way."

"Oh!" Bendy squeaked out, blush deepening, if that was even possible. "Uh-um, th-thank you! Y-You look a-amazing, too! Er, well, th-the, uh, your tunic does too- um, not that you don't! O-Of course!" Oh, it was possible. The little demon's face was hardly recognizable. He was already such an adorable stuttering mess, and Holly was willing to bet that Alice would lose her cool soon too. There was already a light tint her cheeks. Those two would make such a cute couple. If only it weren't for the whole demon-angel problem…

Well. There was another adorable mess of a couple. Holly turned her eyes to look at Cala. The gorgon still had her faithful octopus, Paul, upon her head, his tentacles neatly pushed behind her ears. She wore a longer cloak than Alice, but other than that they had on similar tunics. Cala's was a few shades lighter than Alice's, and her belt was a different style.

Holly smiled warmly at the gorgon as she watched Alice and Bendy's interaction with a small smile. "Mugs is at the punch, if you want to go talk to him." With a glance in his direction, Holly noticed he had gotten roped into a conversation with Granny and Oddswell. Somehow. Granny seemed to be teasing him, because he ducked his head into his scarf and blushed.

Cala, as well, blushed faintly. "Oh, um, yeah, I-I'll go talk to him. You and Finley have fun."

"You too!" Holly waved at the sea girl as she shyly walked over to Mugs, Granny and Oddswell. The cupman blushed at her appearance, although he kept himself more composed than Bendy had.

Holly glanced towards the door to the living room and then back at Finley. "I'm gonna make sure everything's okay in there. You good making sure Cup and Bendy don't have each other's throats before the fun stuff starts happening?"

The fox nodded with an endearing toothy grin. "Sam and I got it, sweetheart." The sandwich-cat nodded timidly, more calm than he had been at the start of the party.

"Thank you." Holly gave him a quick peck on the cheek before turning and heading to the living room.

The lights were off in the living room, having only a small disco ball the Warners had given them and a few dim party lights lighting up the room so you could at least see who you were talking too. A few streamers and ribbons had been hung up but ultimately there wasn't that much decoration. Again, budget cuts. They couldn't spend  _ all  _ their money on a party when they had to find the machine and whip up a cure for the ink illness victims.

They had invited their friends from the circus here as well. Holly had hoped Mickey's group and hers could become better friends from this party, seeing as Nightmare Night, the train ride west, getting kidnapped a few times here and there, and the machine piece that was a paint brush had sorta forced their groups to work together. Holly was good friends with Max and Koko, Boris of course looked up to his idol Mickey, and Felix seemed to have a good relationship with the lot of them, but she was hoping the others like Bendy and Cuphead could form a few friendship's among the circus crew.

Currently, Felix was talking to Oswald, Donald and Daisy. The cat adventurer- aka the adventurer princess for tonight- was keeping his composure fairly well around Oswald, which was good… The rabbit was watching him closely, but other than that, they were acting as though everything was normal.

Well, as normal as one can be in dresses. And a prince's tunic in Daisy's case. Felix still had his magic bag tied around his waist, but it didn't take away from the dress or stand out at all. He also had a shark tooth necklace and bracelet, and his crown was placed upon the rim of his hat. He didn't look ridiculous like Cuphead, or cute like Bendy, rather he just looked plain  _ awesome.  _ Holly applauded the cat for somehow managing to pull that off. She knew Sheba had helped him out with his dress, but the rest of the outfit was Felix's own choices.

Holly gazed around at the others in the room. Someway, somehow, Mickey and Minnie were both together on the couch, blushing and talking to each other in there respective gender swapped outfits. Minnie's cat, Figaro, was on the arm of the couch, appearing grouchy. They had managed to get the cat into a little cat dress with a bow. Snowball was chattering to the cat, wearing a little bowtie Holly thought was absolutely adorable. Even Fireball, the deerhawk, had been dressed up… well, at least there was an attempt. Wiston had ended up burning off the dress they had gotten Fireball into, and the bird had danced around happily whilst on fire as he did it. Unfortunately, the deerhawk's antlers had gotten tangled in some streamers, and the gang had given him a bow. Wiston had tried to burn that off too- but now his older brother was watching him like a hawk, making sure he didn't burn  _ anything  _ tonight.

Both of the fox brothers were in dresses as well, much to Wiston's dismay. And he didn't even appreciate the fact they had gone out of their way to find a fire-themed dress. Hopefully, Wiston didn't turn it into an _on-fire_ themed dress by the end of the day.

Holly walked over to where they had the sound system set up. Goofy was looking everything over, wearing a poofy dress with his ears tied up with a bow.

"Hey, Goofy, everything good?" Holly asked politely.

"Yep!" He replied cheerfully. "One or two wires were out of place, but everything was fine!"

Holly smiled. "That's good. We can put on some light music for now, nothing too fancy or loud."

"Gotcha, Miss May!" The tall dog grinned dopally at her, having to step over a few tangled wires to reach the sound button.

"Just Holly is fine," she said, watching him a bit anxiously as he maneuvered around the wires. Oh boy, didn't he have a habit of-?

Aaaaand, there he went. All it took was one foot getting caught on a wire and he fell with a crash, tangled wires flying everywhere.

Holly winced sympathetically, letting out a dry chuckle. "Uhh… Here." She held out a hand to Goofy, who accepted it sheepishly. He struggled to sit up amongst the pile of wires though. Mickey and Minnie were quick to come over.

"Golly, Goof, how'd ya manage that?" Mickey sighed, helping untangle his friend.

"Oh, gorsh, I don't know, Mick." He grinned apologetically at Holly. "Sorry, Holly. I'll get right back to replugging the wires."

Holly smiled at him again. "It's fine, Goofy. We can go a few more minutes without music." She glanced upwards, towards the ceiling as she heard the sound of footsteps above. She smirked. "I think we'll be having some other form of entertainment arriving soon anyway."

\------------

Alice smiled at Mugs and Cala's nervous antics and the way they blushed at each other. They were so in love with each other, and their ditzy and romantic actions because of it were both so amusing and so adorable to watch. Add Granny's teasing to the mix, and Oddswell's bluntness, and it was a rather entertaining thing to watch.

But, Alice knew she was only trying to distract herself. Her eyes kept sliding over to Bendy as he argued with Cup while Finley laughed at the two and Sammy and Boris tried to calm them down.

Bendy was a lot of things, unfortunately for her… Charming, endearing, humorous, strong, stubborn, a great leader, handsome, an overall great guy… And there were times where, yes, he was cute even, but now… in that frilly little dress? With that goofy little tiara still on his horn? That cute flower clip on his tail? Even the way he was scowling up at Cup, tail lashing and all… The dress was doing what it did best, making him look young and pretty and so adorably cute.

Or maybe it wasn't the dress, and Alice's thoughts and emotions were just getting the better of her..

Stupid crush… that she shouldn't have on a  _ demon.  _ Her family would be horrified… Oooo, how had she gotten herself into this situation? Crushing on the only demon who had been raised on the Surface? With her bad luck, it really shouldn't be that much of a surprise…

Oh, horsefeathers, she was as big of a mess as Cala and Mugs were, wasn't she? Why couldn't she be calm and collected like Holly and Finley? Not that they didn't have their moments too…

She realized she had been staring at Bendy for too long when Cala gently touched her shoulder, jolting her back into reality. She blinked and tilted her head at the gorgon.

"Alice? You good?" Cala inquered.

Alice smiled at her. "Oh! Yes. I am. Just thinking."

Cala frowned, glancing in Bendy's direction. "...Okay," she responded slowly. "Just don't think too much. Tonight's supposed to be a night of fun and relaxation, no worries, remember."

"I know, I know." Alice grinned. "Don't know if Cup and Bendy are gonna relax, though. Looks like they might spend the whole night arguing over who's dress is worse."

"Hey! We are arguing over a  _ valid reason! _ " Bendy barked, overhearing them and turning to them with a frown before scowling back at Cuphead. "He refuses to think that his tiara looks ridiculous!"

"Because it  _ doesn't _ ," Cup shot back. "It was a  _ stylistic choice! _ It would have gotten in the way of my hair otherwise!"

Bendy rolled his eyes. "You and your hair… You really refuse to look anything  _ but  _ edgy, huh?"

"Oh, says you! Mister 'refuses to look cute'. You know they purposely put you in the cutest dress right?" Cup scoffed. "Why not just accept it?"

Bendy visibly bristled at the comment. "I do  _ not look cute!" _

"So you look, what, manly instead?"

"I look better than you in a dress and that's all that matters!"

"And who said you looked better?"

"Um,  _ me,"  _ Bendy shot back.

Cup huffed. "Oh yeah, only  _ your _ opinion matters, apparently."

Bendy glared at him for a moment before turning to his brother. "Boris! I look better right?"

The wolf was hiding his giggles behind his paw. He raised an eyebrow at the demon. "You're… asking me if you… look better in a dress than Cuphead?"

Bendy paused in his tracks, tail twitching. Then, with a light blush on his cheeks, he snapped, "Just answer the question!"

Boris chuckled. "Well, I would have a biased opinion towards you in this situation too, so… maybe that's a question that should be aimed towards the majority?"

"Okay, okay! Fine, whatever!" Bendy turned to address everyone that had stopped their conversations to laugh at Bendy and Cup's argument. "Who looks better, me or Cup?"

"Who looks better specifically in a dress or just in general?" Alice raised an eyebrow at them.

"In a dress!" Bendy growled, clearly growing both frustrated and embarrassed. "Just- oh my stars. Just answer the question!"

"Obviously, if it was just in general, I would win by a landslide," Cup stated, tilting his chin up with a smirk.

"Shut up, dishhead," Bendy snarked. "You would  _ not. _ "

"You sure? Cause-"

"Augh!" Bendy cried out in frustration, waving his arms. "Let's just get onto the vote and get this over with." He crossed his arms and turned to everyone watching. "So?"

The group that had formed traded glances before Finley stepped forward.

"Personally, I find the whole flower theme quite  _ cute _ , so I'm gonna vote Bendy," he said, putting extra emphasis on the word as he grinned toothily at the demon 

"No! I'm not counting that vote. Your votes don't count if it's cause you think I'm cute. Which I'm  _ not! _ " Bendy denied heavily, tail lashing angrily.

"Aw, that's a shame," Betty Boop sighed. "I was gonna vote for you because you are cuter."

Red nodded with a smirk beside her. "I also would've. Now I guess my vote has to go to Cup…"

"What! No!" Bendy stared at them astonished. "You can't be serious."

Red shrugged. "You changed the rules… can't vote for you if it's cause we think you're cute."

"Well- okay, if it's just you three, then I guess that's fine, your votes don't matter…" Bendy dismissed. He turned to the rest of the group eagerly. "Please tell me you all will vote normally?"

"I mean, my vote was gonna be for Cup…" Cala said, tilting her head thoughtfully. "But now that everyone's brought up your cuteness factor… I don't know. You  _ are  _ pretty cute in a dress. I think I would vote for you."

"No! You can vote for me, just don't vote for me because I'm cute!" Bendy cried irritatedly.

"So you admit you're cute then?" Cup smirked.

Bendy blushed. "No! I'm not! I am  _ not  _ cute, at all! Just-! Just, urgh! Just finish voting."

"Well, my votes also gonna be for Bendy then," Mugs stated, casting an apologetic look at his brother. "Sorry, Cup."

The cupman shrugged while Bendy looked hopefully at Mugs. "Really? Just a normal vote?"

"Well…." Mugs drew out the word.

"Nope! Nope! Don't finish your sentence! You've already voted and it has nothing to do with cuteness. Moving on. Sammy?" Bendy quickly turned to look at the cat in a sandwich costume as Mugs grinned in amusement.

"U-Um…" Sammy looked flustered at the sudden attention. He tapped the ground with his foot. "Uh, I guess, Bendy… The tiara is really cu-"

"NO!" Bendy yelled, making Alice's ears ring at the volume of it. "No! Don't even! Alice,  _ please _ just vote normally."

The angel blinked before smiling at the frantic demon. "Well, honestly… Bendy, my vote is for you. You're just too adorable not to vote for."

Bendy screamed in vexation at her words. "No! None of your votes count! This isn't fair!"

Cup smirked at him. "Well, dang, guess I lose. How awful."

Bendy glared at him. "Oh, yeah,  _ real _ awful for you…"

"What's with all the screaming? Who have you guys tortured this time?" Holly asked as she reentered the room, coming to stand between Finley and Alice.

"It's just Bendy coming to realize he's the cutest princess," Cup informed her. Bendy punched him in the arm.

"Am  _ not!"  _ He snapped. "That vote was rigged!"

"What vote?" Holly raised an eyebrow.

"The one where Bendy was decided as the one who's cuter in a dress than Cup," Alice answered.

"No! That  _ wasn't  _ the vote at all!" Bendy argued.

Holly's lips twitched as giggle left her mouth. "Sorry, but it's hard to take you seriously in that get-up. I can see why you won."

"I didn't win! It was rigged!"

"But I thought you wanted to win?" Cala pointed out.

Bendy growled. "Not if it was because I was cute."

"Again, you admit you're-"

"DON'T EVEN FINISH THAT SENTENCE, CUP! I swear-!"

"Do I even wanna know?" A rather annoying voice cut in, and Alice could sense everyone's moods immediately turn sour. Low and behold, ever-popular Jerry was there at the entrance, frowning at all of them, clear disgust and annoyance in his eyes.

"No," Bendy responded dryly. "Cuss off."

The frown on Jerry's face deepened. "I would, but the Warners keep pestering me."

Right on time, the Warners popped out from behind him.

"I wouldn't say pestering!" Dot chirped.

"Just some friendly teasing between friends!" Wakko grinned.

"What is friendship without a friendly gibe or two?" Yakko added.

"We are not friends," Jerry stated simply, glaring lightly at them as they smiled innocently up at him. "They won't leave me alone."

"Good. Go back upstairs and wallow in your misery." Bendy glared at him. Oh boy. This was supposed to be a night of fun. They wouldn't start a fight surely?

To Alice's surprise, Holly stepped forward, blocking Bendy's view of Jerry. "Hey. This is a party, don't drag it down, both of you." She sent a warning glance Bendy's way. She smiled, polite but forced, at Jerry. "You didn't want to be involved with this, so you can't complain about anything."

Jerry's frown deepened, almost a scowl. "But they're just gonna keep pestering me all night long! You can have your… little party, but just don't bother me."

"Awwww, but Jer-bear! You haven't even given it a try!" Dot pouted. 'Jer-bear'? Alice blinked. With a quick glance at Jerry's irritated face, she knew Dot was calling him that only because he hated it.

"I'm not going to wear a dress for a silly party… it's… unsightly." He glanced at the men wearing dresses, clearly uncomfortable. Well. Too bad for him and his misogynistic ways.

"Don't knock it til you try it!" Yakko said, twirling around in his own fancy dress.

"Look, we'll even help you out with the first step!" Wakko added as he and his siblings jumped towards Jerry.

"What? What do you mean- No!" Jerry tried to back away as the Warners approached him. But they were zanies, and no one can get away from zanies on a mission. "Don't-" Too late. Suddenly he was twirling like one of those spinning wooden toys, spun around by the Warners like he was a rotating door.

And when the Warners finally stopped spinning him, he stumbled backwards dizzily, adorned in a magnificent dress. The skirt of the dress was ridiculously large, and the fabric of the dress was smooth and flowy, with black stripes that started at his waist and went up. He wore a beaded bracelet, a typical tiara, and a flower by his ear.

"See! You look bee-uatiful!" Yakko snickered proudly.

"No! Change me back! Warners! U-undo this right now!" Jerry's face was flushed brightly as he stared horrified at himself and then at the others as boisterous laughter erupted out of them.

"Change you back? But why!" Dot gasped in mock-horror. "Don't you like our work?"

"No! Stars no! Th-this is awful. I said I didn't want to be involved in your stupid little party," Jerry whined.

"But you haven't even given it a chance! We spent  _ hours  _ carefully weaving that dress specifically for you." Wakko frowned disappointedly.

"I don't care!" Jerry snapped, face still burning. "Change me back!"

"Give it a chance!" The Warners argued.

"No!"

"Alright, alright, I think you've had your fun, Warners," Granny suddenly cut in, waddling over to Jerry and the Warners with a glass of punch in her hand. "Let's give him a break before you do anything further."

The Warners all pouted, Dot sighing dramatically. "I suppose that is fair."

Jerry let it a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"Oh, don't thank me yet, young man. You do need to learn to loosen up." Granny frowned, waving her cane at him a bit. She handed him the glass of punch. "Go back upstairs for now, but if the Warners start terrorizing you again, don't think I'm gonna help you out again."

Jerry frowned, eyeing the punch before he nodded. "Can't they at least change me back, though?"

Granny tilted her head, tapping her chin. "Hmm. No. Deal with it yourself."

Alice heard Bendy snicker at the irritated look on Jerry's face. The man huffed and turned to leave the room, taking a sip from the glass of punch.

Almost immediately he spat it out. "You put SALT in punch?!?!" He coughed a bit, turning a glare towards the Warners, Granny, and the grinning Holly and Finley that traded conspiring looks. "It's not funny anymore! It wasn't even funny in the first place!"

"Speak for yourself. This is hilarious to me," Bendy snorted while Cup laughed beside him.

"How many times can you call for the same gag?" Cup chuckled.

Jerry glared at them both, gritting his teeth before he turned in marched off. The effect he wanted it to have was lost due to the fact that he was wearing a ridiculously large dress with bee stripes.

The laughter continued to rage on amongst the group as Jerry left.

"Oh my stars, we shoulda had a camera!" Bendy giggled, tail waving happily.

"Way ahead of ya, buddy." Finley pulled out a camera from behind him, waving it back and forth.

"Nice!"

As they all continued to laugh about Jerry's misery, Goofy walked into the room, giving them all a perplexed look.

"Erm, just wanted to tell ya I got the sound system wired back up again, Holly," he awkwardly told her. Holly beamed at him.

"Wonderful! Thank you, Goofy. Now's a good time to start dancing, and after that, karaoke," Holly said.

"Ooo! Bendy! We have to dance!" Dot jumped over and grabbed his arm, smiling up at him.

He groaned, giving her an exasperated glare, but he seemed to accept his fate. "Fine. One dance."

Dot gasped, eyes brightening. "Yes! Let's  _ go!"  _ And just like that, Dot and Bendy were suddenly gone.

"Wait! Dot! I wanted you to change me into a tree prince for the dancing part!" Holly chased after them, Finley tailing her.

Mugs turned to Cala, a blush on his face as he extended his arm. "Um- wanna dance?"

Cala blushed as well. "Of course," she said, taking his arm. Alice and Holly had both been teaching her the basics of dancing for a few days, so hopefully everything would go smoothly for her. And if not, Alice was sure Mugs would be the kind soul he was and help her out.

The rest of the group slowly trailed into the main room as the disco ball shined above and the music started to blare. A nice, soft melody was playing.

Alice smiled as she watched Bendy and Dot dance much like she had so long ago in Black Hat's casino. The song was even of a similar tune. Bendy was a natural at dancing, swaying to the beat and light on his feet. Even in a dress, he never felt out of the rhythm. The skirt of the dress flew out around him as he twirled. The tiara remained securely on his horn. Stars, he was so endearingly charming, dancing like that… Face full of light and joy, blissful cheer, as he danced with all his heart… and the dress, tiara and flower clip added that lovely adorableness factor as well…

Gah, her heart. It was too much to handle. Why did he have to be so endearing? There was no way she couldn't dance with him at least once… Just watching him took her breath away.

Oh, she was a real mess, wasn't she?

\-------------

Cup fiddled with the fabric of his dress as he watched his brother and Cala slowly dance together, the dimly lit lights around them highlighting the blushes on their cheeks.

"Ah, so you aren't going to dance then, mister hero?" A familiar voice said beside him, immediately making his heart jump and his face flush.

"No," Cup answered clippedly. He wasn't much of a dancer, and he hadn't danced in so long… he couldn't even remember a time he had danced. And even if he was going to dance, who would he even dance with? Fanny? No, he couldn't.

"Well, why not? The dress too much for you?" Fanny asked, tilting her head. Cuss. Don't think about how hot she was in that outfit. Don't think about it. Just focus on your brother and Cala dancing, Cuphead, you got this. Keep your cool.

"It is annoying," he agreed, "but I just don't wanna dance."

Fanny hummed, glancing at Mugs and Cala as he watched them dance. "I'm not really in the mood for dancing either." She stretched a bit, rolling her shoulders. Cup tried not to focus on the curve of her body. "This party is a nice break away from home life." She smirked. "It is quite a hilarious concept, a twist of the princess-prince parties. I heard you'd started this all? Something about sticking a girl in a tree?"

Cup's face flushed. Ah, curses. It did sound ridiculous when you put it like that. "Yeah…" His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. "It was just a joke, but I never expected it to turn into… this." He gestured vaguely around them.

Fanny smiled. "Yeah. Sometimes the world just works in funny ways to come crashing down on you, doesn't it?"

Cup blinked, glancing at her. "It does." He glanced back towards his brother and Cala as they laughed happily with each other. "But there's at least some good in it."

She was silent for a moment, before she glanced at him and then quickly back out towards the dancing pairs. "I suppose it does." She flicked an ear. "As cliche as that sounds."

Cup smirked. "Sometimes we need cliches."

\---------------

Bendy waved to Dot as she dashed off to go do something with Holly and Finley. Dancing had put him in a good mood. It had been a long time since he'd been able to just relax like this. He didn't feel tired, or stressed, just relaxed and happy. No aching muscles or new bruises, just a smile and joy.

"Having fun?" Alice asked from behind him. He turned and smiled at her, ignoring how his cheeks heated up, and his heart started beating a little bit faster just at the sight of her.

She was breath-taking, from the simple way she had her hair in a ponytail, down to the way her tunic framed her body beautifully. She was always beautiful, but add in a lovely outfit and dim lighting that revealed just enough of her features and… it was almost too much.

"Yep!" He responded cheerily. "Are you?" Ugh, he sounded so generic! Was there anyway he could spice up the conversation? Throw in a pun?

The angel smiled at him. "Of course I am!" She tilted her head, her halo bobbing. Oh cuss, how did he respond to that? He didn't want to have an awkward silence, but it was already taking a heartbeat too long, and-

A new song started playing. It was similar to the other one, soft and graceful, yet more upbeat and quicker.

Alice glanced towards the other dancing pairs before looking back at Bendy. She extended her hand towards him, smiling gently. Her dark eyes twinkled softly in the glow of her halo. "You wanna dance for a song?"

Bendy's heart stopped.  _ She _ was asking  _ him _ to dance? I mean, there wasn't anything wrong with that, but- Stars his face must be so bright right now, but, still, he had always imagined asking her to dance and it being elegantly executed not… Him blushing like mad as she asked him to dance.

He swallowed the saliva forming his mouth as he reached out to grab her hand. Her beautiful smile widened as she pulled him closer. She grabbed his other arm before they both twirled in sync with the rhythm of the music. She pulled him back again and he quickly realized she was taking on the leading role. That was fine, he had done that once or twice before, and it made sense, considering he  _ was  _ in a princess outfit, and she, in a prince's. Still, for some reason, it made his face light up.

She extended her arm and sent him twirling around before they pulled back again, holding each other's arms as they moved in a circle. Bendy's gaze was caught in her eyes as they stared down at him with that familiar, lovable smile. The looser parts of her hair flowed at the sides of her head, while her halo seemed to bob and glow in sync with the music.

Again, he was twirled in time with the music before was pulled back to the angel, this time being sent around her as they danced in unison. Their opposite hands caught each other as they circled each other. Alice tugged him towards her, letting him spin around until he was suddenly pressed up against her, his back against her body. One hand held hers while his other arm was pressed against his own stomach as her arm was wrapped around him.

He let out a tiny gasp, flustered by the close contact. She hoped she wouldn't hear it over the music, but he caught her smiling down at him with an amused yet smug twinkle in her eye. He felt her heart beat just barely over his own loud, rapid one.

And then the contact was gone as soon as it came. He was flung out and sent into another twirling spiral before being pulled close again- but not as close.

They continued to twirl, dance and step in sync with one another and the music. Every time Alice pulled him closer, his face would flush darker and his heart would speed up. He swore she could tell he got flustered by it, because she would always tilt her head and smile with half-lidded eyes as she pulled him close. She would pull him closer and closer every time, but right before they were close enough to touch, she would restart the cycle over again, teasing him.

As the song began nearing its end, picking up suddenly in speed before slowing down randomly, Alice twirled him for longer periods of time, watching with a grin as the skirt of his dress flew out around him. Then, at the last few beats, she pulled him back into that position that had made him so flustered in the first place. As the song ended, she laughed lightly, softly, beautifully in his ear, the ripples of movement pressing her body closer to Bendy's. She unwrapped her arm from around him, giving him one last twirl before they lost all contact.

She beamed at him. "You're such an amazing dancer, Bendy."

He blushed, tail waving. "You are too, Alice."

She smiled. "I'm decent, but I'm not the dancing princess like you are, am I?"

He smiled back at her. "No, I suppose not. But you are the singing prince. It'll be wonderful to hear your beautiful voice again at karaoke."

She blushed, ducking her head a bit. "I'll be happy to sing again, honestly." She blinked. "And I would love to see you dance again, so… Would you mind dancing with me again next song too?"

_ Would he mind?  _ Of cussing course not! His heart nearly just exploded with happiness as she said that! Okay, a bit of an exaggeration, but still. He could tell he brightened up like a kid on Christmas day when she said that. "Of course not! I'd love to, Alice."

"Great!" The angel smiled at him. "I'll go get us some punch while we wait then, okay?"

Bendy nodded and smiled, ignoring the heat on his face, as he watched Alice happily trot off to go get some punch.

Stars, she was so beautiful… It didn't matter how much he repeated it in his head, or how much he thought it. It was always true. Beautiful, kind, pretty, hilarious, considerate… all those generic adjectives. Yet they were all so  _ true. _ Alice just made him so… light-headed and dizzy. Especially after dancing with her like  _ that _ , and just watching how she lit up… the smile on her face, the brightness in her eyes, the glow of her halo, the softness of her laugh…

It made his heart ache. She was an angel, he was a demon… She most likely had someone back home, or she would, considering angels had arranged marriages… Or at least, from what he'd heard they did. He wasn't sure how they worked, but he didn't want to mess anything up for her… Angels and demons don't mix, at least, not romantically. However much he wished that wasn't the case, he and Alice just weren't meant to be. If she was even seriously interested in him at all, anyway.

He let out a long sigh as a sharp stab of pain raced through him at the thought. Wait-

He blinked, straightening his spine and lifting a gloved hand to his forehead. As he brought his hand down to stare at it, he could just make out the faint smudges on his glove in the dark.

Oh cuss, no, no, no, no, no- not  _ now. _ Anytime but  _ now.  _ Cussing moonrocks! No!

With a quiet hiss he jerked backwards and swiftly left the room, his heart pounding as he felt the familiar sharp pains of an ink attack start. Why  _ now? _ Cuss, he needed to get somewhere where he could just silently ride the attack out and act like nothing happened afterwards. Hopefully, it would be a quick attack, he didn't want to keep Alice waiting…

"Bendy?" He heard said angel's soft voice call out worriedly from behind him as he neared the end of the hallway. Cuss! No! She didn't need to see this. This was supposed to be a night of fun, away from the stress, anxiety and depression! He didn't need to ruin it for her!

He sped up a bit, aimlessly trying to get away, trying to lose her. But- Cuss! The starfallen pain was beginning to be too much for him to ignore… strands of ink were beginning to melt off his forehead. Sunblazing ink illness! He couldn't run away from Alice right now, he'd just have to deal with it.

He quickly headed to the back door, exiting the house and letting the cold midnight breeze cool his rapidly rising temperature. He collapsed onto the ground outside, curling in on himself as the pain and melting increased. He threw the tiara off to the side, not wanting to stain it. His ballerina shoes were easy to kick off. He struggled to get the flower clip off and opted for leaving it on instead. He wanted to pull the dress off of him, but it was too much effort and he couldn't focus, and besides, Alice would see him without it on then… and he only had boxers on underneath.

He heard the door open and shut again as Alice came outside. "Bendy? Are- Are you okay?" There was a startled gasp as she realized what was going on. "Bendy, oh my heavens- I…" She kneeled down beside him, tentatively reaching out to touch him, worry evident on her face.

"Don't touch me," Bendy hissed out, flinching away. She winced and recoiled, holding her arms to her sides. Bendy immediately felt guilty for snapping out at her. "I- Sorry… just… I don't want you to ruin your clothes..."

Her eyes widened. "What-? I don't care about that. Bendy, you're melting! I-I need to help you! H-How can I help you?"

Bendy struggled to respond for a moment as he trembled in agony, feeling the ripples of pain race throughout his body as he watched the strands on ink drip off his body and stain his dress and the ground below. "Th-there's pills in my room… it's not locked, I think… o-otherwise, there's probably some in Oddswell's labs or… the cabinets in the kitchen…" He wrapped his arms around his body, trying to slow down the pain as he desperately struggled against the ferocity of the attack. No, he didn't want it to be one of his more awful ones… Alice didn't need to see that.

He saw Alice nod out of the corner of his vision. "O-Okay… I'll- I'll get a towel too, a-and water. I'll be right back, Bendy, please, don't- don't-..." Don't what? Die? Not like he had much say in the matter… he just had to keep on resisting. Well, whatever she was going to say, she didn't finish. She turned and quickly headed back inside.

Bendy let out a small cry of pain he had been keeping in for her sake. Cuss, cuss, cuss, it hurt so much. Ink rose up his throat like bile as he puked it out, hating the acidic taste.

Cuss. He hated this. So much. Why  _ now? _

\-----------

If Alice couldn't calm her beating heart before, she surely couldn't now. Her thoughts were racing, worried,  _ terrified  _ of what could happen. Should she get someone else? Boris, Granny, Holly, maybe? She hadn't dealt with an ink attack before… What if something went wrong? What if… What if Bendy  _ died? _

Heavens above, the thought had always been there, scaring her, worrying her. But  _ now?  _ It was so much more forceful, prominent. She was staring at what could be Bendy's final moments. He could just pass away, melt away into a puddle, and that would be it. The last thing she'd hear would be his screams, his cries, his misery. He would just be  _ gone _ .

If he was- If he died- if, if, if…. She couldn't bear to think about it. Yet, it refused to leave her mind.

_ 'I could lose him.'  _ Her brain fretted.  _ 'How would Boris react? Cuphead? Granny? Felix? Holly?'  _ She didn't want to think about their horrified faces, their distraught emotions. No. She had to focus on the present, not the what-ifs, not the maybes.

That's why she had a towel, a cup of cold water, and a bottle of pills in her hands. That's why she was quickly heading back outside, to the melting demon in the backyard.

And just seeing him again, still melting, still in pain, but now so much  _ worse… _

She bit her lip to stop the concerned, horrified noise that almost left her lips, reducing it to a quiet 'mmm'. She sat down beside Bendy, rubbing the towel against his ink-stained forehead.

What should she do? What did Boris do whenever his brother started melting? Was she doing this right? How did one comfort someone who was literally  _ melting.  _ Stars.

She uncapped the bottle and poured a few pills out into her palm. "Bendy. The- the pills… C-can you swallow them for me?" She awkwardly held them out for him. If he couldn't, should she try and shove them down his throat, or leave him be? Would having him drink the water with the pills in it help, or no?

Luckily, Bendy was responsive enough to open his mouth and let her slide the pills into his mouth so he could swallow them, although she could tell he struggled with the action.

"D-Do you want some water, or- or would that not help?" She asked nervously. Bendy gave no response except for groan as he curled deeper in on himself. Alice's heart skipped a beat at his agony.

She glanced at his wrist to make sure his Joy rune bracelet was glowing. It was, a soft light amongst the darkness. Good. Those helped right? At least a little bit?

Alice let out a shaky breath as she wiped more ink away with the towel. "I-It'll be okay… You'll be okay, Bendy." He shifted, tail lashing a bit as ink dripped all over, completely drenching the more exposed areas of his dress. He had to be okay, right? He'd be fine. He'd survived other attacks before…

But he looked so miserable. So awful. His horns had begun to lose shape, ink dripping down his face faster than Alice could wipe it away. It was futile to do so at this point. He seemed to be struggling to keep himself upright, as if trying not to collapse and sink into a puddle.

Alice placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently but firmly. What could she do?

"A-Alice," Bendy groaned, quaking as he spoke, his breaths raspy and wild as he choked on the putrid ink. "Just let me melt. D-Don't… don't worry… I…" He broke off to cough violently, black dribbling down his chin. "D-Don't stain y-...your clothes."

She frowned at him. "Do you really think I'm more worried about some silly costume more than your well-being?"

He was silent for a moment, fighting for his breath over the ink. Then, he responded, "I-I don't wanna ruin the rest of the night for you…"

Alice huffed, scowling at the demon. "There's no way you can ruin my night, Bendy. I've already had the best time of my life tonight with you." Tears pricked her eyes again as she watched the melting get worse, the ink get thicker, and his trembling only get more violent. "I-" She wrapped her arms around him abruptly and pulled him close into a hug as her tears began to fall. He was really more worried about her night than he was the fact he was nearly  _ melting to death? _ "You melting isn't going to ruin that. You're gonna be okay, and it isn't your fault. I would never blame you for ruining my night, because you aren't."

Bendy squirmed a bit in her hug before his back arched a bit and she heard him choke on ink as it viciously slid up his throat. He coughed as he cried, reaching out and grabbing onto Alice's tunic like a lifeline as he desperately clung to her. He was repeatedly mumbling under his breath when he could, saying, "I'm sorry for staining your clothes."

She frowned again, closing her eyes as she clung tighter to him, not even bothered by the slick ink that stained her gloves, arms, hair, and clothes. "Bendy…" She wanted to protest against his needless apologies, but he was too lost in the pain and suffering to hear her now…

He shook fiercely again, tail lashing, the cute little flower clip turned black by the ink. He whimpered out, weak and quiet, "Alice…"

Her heart ached so badly as all she wanted to do was comfort him and make everything magically all right again. Her tears began to blur her vision. She pulled him into a tighter hug. "Think about everyone else, Bendy."

She closed her eyes as she whispered to him, "Think about Boris. He'll be so happy to see you. He always is. And Cup and Finley will start teasing you about something again. Granny will make us a nice meal. Felix and Holly will read over those demon books with you." She paused, taking a steadying breath of her own as his whimpers turned softer but remained ever-present. "Maybe you'll get to have some bacon soup later. We can make a few puns- or, hey, we could dance again…" She cleared her throat as she thought about their dance together. A memory she would never forget, much like this one. How different those moments were, yet how close they had happened. "I loved dancing with you, Bendy."

_ 'I love you, Bendy.'  _ The words were stuck in her throat, hanging on the tip of her tongue, caught on a breath she couldn't force out. Now wasn't exactly the best time for a full-on confession anyway.

She swallowed, rubbing his back with her hand in soothing circles, ignoring the tears streaming down her face. "It'll be okay."

There was a long period of silence, aside from Bendy's gasps and whimpers, where Alice didn't know what else to say. She just waited for his attack to slow down. Finally, he seemed to gain more control over himself, gasping for breath as his throat cleared up but the ink remained dripping down his sides. His horns were beginning to reform as well. He pulled away from their hug a bit, but Alice remained comfortingly rubbing his back as she silently wept.

She wiped away some of the ink cover his eyes with the towel. He blinked as he regained his vision, eyes a familiar tired and strained look that was not at all like the free and open cheer and joy they had been while dancing. He glanced up at her and frowned. "You're crying? Are you okay?"

She nearly laughed at that. He was on the verge of death mere moments ago and he's concerned that she was crying? It only made her heart ache so much more for him…

She gave him a wobbly, sad smile. "I-I'm okay. I was just very worried for you. But I'm glad that you're fine." She frowned. "Or, well, that the attack is ending… You are alright, aren't you? Nothing's wrong?"

Bendy nodded. "I'm fine. The- The attack's almost over… Y-You shouldn't be so concerned, Alice… This is normal… and you've ruined your outfit because of it."

The angel slowly lowered one of her hands until it brushed against his, softly intertwining her fingers with his as she firmly grasped his hand while her other continued to rub his back.

"Bendy." She gazed sternly down at him. "How many times do I have to say it: I. Don't. Care. About. The tunic. Not more than I care about you, anyway. The outfit is cute and all, but it's not  _ you.  _ I care about you so much, Bendy. I'd rather the costume be stained than you." She took a deep breath. "And this shouldn't be 'the normal'... We're gonna get a cure, one day, Bendy. You're gonna find the ink machine and make a cure for yourself and everyone else. You're gonna be okay."

He didn't respond as a cough rippled through his body, forcing up some more residue of the ink. He leaned against her, laying his head against her shoulder as she held his hand and rubbed his back. She closed her eyes and began humming the tune of the song they had danced to, replaying that fond memory in her head. Had that really only happened moments ago? It already felt like forever ago.

She could feel his heartbeat beating in his chest. The warmth radiating from his body. The way his chest rose and fell with every breath, pressed against her own body until their breathing was in sync. Just knowing he was alive brought her so much comfort. He would live. This wouldn't be his final moment.

The ink finally stopped dripping. His horns were full again, and Bendy's breathing had returned completely normal, no rasping as he choked on dark liquid. He shifted slightly away from her, lifting his head off of her shoulder. He glanced at her ruined, stained tunic and cloak with a frown.

Alice immediately stopped whatever train of thought he was having. "Don't even comment on it. It's fine. Your life is more important than fashion."

Bendy frowned but reluctantly nodded before glancing at himself and his own ruined dress. He seemed to pout a bit, jutting out his lower lip as he furrowed his brows. "I wish I hadn't ruined this dress either."

She raised a brow at that before smirking. "Oh? So you do like that dress after all?"

He blushed brightly as his eyes widened. He stuttered over his words for a moment before huffing, turning his head away from her. "Well, i-it's a waste of money. If it's ruined, it can't be used again."

"So you were planning to wear it again, then?" Alice smugly said.

His cheeks looked like they were on fire with how bright they were. He stared wide-eyed at her, squeaking out a defiant, "N-n-no! No! A-absolutely not!"

Alice smirked proudly at him, enjoying how he blushed and stuttered. His reactions were so adorable whenever she could catch him off guard. "Is that so?"

"Yes!"

They descended into a silence as Bendy calmed his flustered nerves and Alice glanced up towards the starry night sky. She shifted closer to him, tugging him towards her with their still interlocked hands. She wrapped her other arm around him, pulling him close. He hesitated for a split second before relaxing against her.

She stared at the twinkling stars for a long moment, before she hummed out, "You should wear it again. Once the stains are all out, of course." She glanced back at him, wanting to see his reaction. He was staring back at her as if she was the only beautiful thing around, as if the stars above didn't compare to her. It made her heart skip a beat. She smiled at him. "You look cute in a dress."

His cheeks flushed brightly again, and he averted his gaze, but he didn't move away from her. "Do not."

Her smile widened as she responded, "Do too."

He was silent for a moment before he relaxed again. "Maybe I do. But- just… don't tell Cup I said that. Ever."

Alice nodded, and he continued, saying, "But I'm not wearing the dress again, with or without stains… It's embarrassing…" He mumbled out the last bit, cheeks tinted.

Alice tilted her head, halo bobbing, as she asked, kindly, "Would you wear the dress just for me?"

He startled, staring at her perplexedly. He blushed a bit, letting out a "What?"

"Would you wear the dress just for me?" Alice repeated. She added, "Just me. No one else would have to see you, since it's so 'embarrassing'. Just… you and I. Princess and prince?"

He blushed and squeezed her hand, glancing away as he mumbled, "Y-yeah… j-just for you. Only you…"

Alice smiled at his timid response, returning to gazing back up at the stars above. After a beat of silence, Bendy asked, "Do you want to go back inside?"

She lightly tilted her head to the side. "...No. I'd rather stay outside with you, staring at the stars." As an afterthought, she added, "The party's almost over anyways." She glanced at him. "Why? Do you want to go back inside?"

He was silent for a moment, before he squeezed her hand again, closing his eyes and leaning against her, resting his head against her shoulder. He breathed out, tickling her ear and making her heart jump at the action.

"I'd rather stay out here with you too. A princess with his prince, gazing at the stars," he murmured into her ear.

She felt her cheeks heat up as she blushed, but she smiled nonetheless, gazing up at the stars as she nodded.

"A prince with her princess."

**Author's Note:**

> Normally I don't like titles that are just a line from the story, but A Princess with his Prince just sounded so much better than just calling it "Princesses and Princes" or "Princess Prince Party" or smthn soooo. Now it's the title.  
> Also. Writing out/reading an ink attack from the perspective of someone who isn't experiencing it really makes you wonder what you yourself would do in that situation, doesn't it?
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> S.H.E (second-hand embarrassment) and dancing are literally the worst, so hopefully those scenes aren't too flat or awkward or bad. It was a nice break to wright that ink attack though! :D Definitely more my speed lol. And! Of course this all started from ideas and wonderful artwork, so let me feature some of the princesses and princes~
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> This first batch was drawn by [fantastickingdomus](https://fantastickingdomus.tumblr.com/)! Look at these cuties!
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> These were drawn by [OneRogueFalcon](https://roguefalcon.tumblr.com/)!
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> And some cute drawings by [bunnilov3r1738](https://bunnilov3r1738.tumblr.com/)! Featuring the Sammywich ;3
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> Look at all these cute princesses and princes!! :D So adorable! <3 Anyway, thank you for reading, good luck and good writing! :)


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